


SEAL TEAM WEEK 2021

by ArcticSwan



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mostly Full Metal and Trent..., SEAL TEAM WEEK, SEAL Team (TV) Week 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28639674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticSwan/pseuds/ArcticSwan
Summary: My attempt at the SEAL Team Week prompts. Hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Scott Carter/Trent Sawyer
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	1. Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so… I’ve written ‘a lot’ about Full Metal already, both as ArcticSwan and as M_Mary93. And the different stories hasn’t really been linked so far. And I’ve put Metal in various family situations so far.  
> I gave him the ‘perfect’ parents in Crush, I gave him a great mom and an -ish- dad in Parenthood. And now, because I’m evil… I’ll give him a shitty single dad.

He looked over at his buddy. The other man was asleep, but it was far from a peaceful one. The man had been twisting, grunting and flinching ever since Trent had woken up.

“No. Please.” The voice was nothing like his buddy’s usual voice. It seemed younger, adolescent even. “No.”

Trent sat up and watched the man in the opposite bunk. He was torn between waking the man and not. He knew it could be a bad move to attempt to wake him and that it could earn him a black eye, or time in a chokehold. He’d learned that years ago, with another team mate.

123123123

_All he had done was to topple a glass and have it shatter when it hit the floor. Which might have been okay, if his dad hadn’t killed more than a bottle of the cheapest whiskey available after returning from work that day._

_The next thing he knew, his dad had ‘raised his voice’, and his hand._

_The first hit wasn’t too bad. He’d had worse. His dad must’ve miscalculated the distance, his balance and how woozy his head was. Because the hit was a near miss, and his dad stumbled as a result. Which was insult to injury in his dad’s mind._

_The next hit was a bad one. The sharp stinging pain when the fist landed and the numbness when his dad prepared for the next hit._

_But the next hit wasn’t a hit. It was a fist grabbing a hold of his hair and yanking his head sideways, then the other hand grabbed a hold of his arm. Then he was airborne. The wall hit him. The floor hit him. His right shoulder screamed._

_So did his twin sister._

_He blinked the room clear. The back of his head had impacted with the wall, and he knew he would have a headache for about a week as a result. But he had to make sure his dad didn’t hurt her._

_He tried to push off the ground, but his shoulder ached too much to move his right arm._

_His dad had turned towards his sister. He wouldn’t be fast enough._

_“You fucking loser!” he spat towards his dad, “38 years and what are you? The worst janitor in town?”_

_He knew he was probably signing his own death warrant, but at least it would give his sister some time to get to somewhere safe._

_“Yeah. I heard the mailman talk about you.” He bit out, “Yeah, I heard him say how you’re slow. Dumb. No one likes you.”_

_His dad had turned towards him again, his sister was forgotten._

_He locked eyes with her, he knew his stare was hard. Waved his left hand in a ‘go’ motion. She got it. Ran out the front door._

_His dad pulled him up by the front of his shirt. His shoulder protested, jarred. He hoped it wasn’t broken. The last cast he’d worn had made the teachers look at him with pity. He hated that._

_“Waddaya say?” The mix of stale beer and cheap whiskey on his dad’s breath was sickening. He felt his stomach churn._

_He tried to keep a blank face. Tried not to make any sort of move. But then his throat decided it had the power of attorney and he had no way to stop the swallowing which just happened._

_His mouth was bone dry and he had that sickening sweet and tingly taste in his mouth._

_“Speak up kid!” His dad shook him, and his shoulder did not like it. Some the only words his dad never failed to enunciate no matter how drunk he was._

_Then suddenly his dad’s grip failed, and Scott fell against the wooden leg of the second hand couch. It knocked the air out of him._

_He couldn’t get the air back into his lungs. His eyes welled up with tears. He knew that was bad. His dad took that as a sign of weakness. His dad hated weakness._

_He stepped back like a kicker about to punt. Scott braced himself._

_He knew the sharp cry escaping him would only encourage his dad. But pain and the following blooming warmth on the outside of his thigh where his dad’s work boot had landed was too much._

_“Please. No…” he swallowed, “Dad, please.”_

_“You son of a bitch…” Another one of the phrases his dad could spit however drunk he was, “Thimt ur smalt?...”_

_His dad blinked a couple of times, then tried again “Thinnngt youl smaaalt?”_

_His dad sighed, annoyed with himself. Not good._

_“YauTHingtYauSMATT?” He blew out an exasperated breath, “You know what I’m trying to say, GODDAMMIT!”_

_‘you think you’re smart?’ No, he knew he wasn’t. He would have run away from home if he had been, right? But then there was Lisa. He couldn’t run away from Lisa. He wouldn’t be able to protect her if he did._

_The next blow came out of nowhere. He felt the stinging as the form of his dad’s palm swelled up on the left side of his face._

_Then he was yanked forward by his hair, and landed face down on the floor. It felt like his chin split open as he impacted, but there was no blood the next time he had the chance to look down. Good._

_“I should kill you.” Those words didn’t register anymore. It was just one of dad’s phrases. It only meant he was going to get a beating._

_He heard his dad fumble with his belt. God, he hated the belt. But it would be worse if he tried to run from his punishment._

123123123

The whimpering from the opposite bunk was heartbreaking to listen to. He had never seen his buddy show a vulnerable side. Full Metal had been so cold and stone-like, Trent had let his imagination run and built a story where Full Metal was some sort of superhuman who didn’t feel fright.

That illusion shattered now, and he was glad they were alone in the room. He imagined this was something the infamous Full Metal didn’t want anybody to know about.

“Dad, no!” the frail voice from the other bed gasped.

Trent didn’t know what had happened, but his heart shattered.

Was it safe to poke Full Metal with a long stick?

123123123

_The beating felt like it had lasted for hours on end, but realistically it hadn’t lasted that long. And of course his dad had blamed him for his mom’s death more than once during the ordeal. She had died giving birth to him and his twin sister._

_If his memory was correct, there was a time when his dad had been good to them all of the time. But something had happened around the time they were five. His dad had lost his carpenter job, and things had gone downhill. His dad had fallen in love with the mind numbing liquid which made him angry, and the beatings had started._

_At least he was able to protect his sister, most of the time. Their dad had punched her about five times the last six years. But she had never gotten the same beatings Scott did. Scott made sure of that._

_His body hurt. Everything hurt. Could hair hurt? He was pretty sure it did._

_His nose was bleeding._

_He couldn’t move his right arm._

_He was sure the ribs along his left side would hurt for weeks._

_But his sister was safe, and dad had grown tired and his anger had ebbed away._

_“GohWashhhUp.”_

_Scott nodded stiffly. He would wash the blood off himself, then clean up where he had spilled and broken the glass._

123123123

The scared, wild, eyes darting around the room to scan for possible dangers were almost as painful to see as it had been to hear the pleas moments earlier.

“You’re safe…” Trent whispered, hoping it wouldn’t startle Full Metal.

The almost grey eyes locked with his own.

“-You never heard or saw anything.” Full Metal’s eyes were intense.

“No. If anyone asks, I didn’t.” Trent nodded.

Metal nodded and looked down at his own trembling hands, “Thanks for waking me…”

Trent nodded, “Look, I know you probably don’t want to… But, if you need to, under four eyes and nothing leaves my lips afterwards… Might be good to talk that out with someone…”

Metal shook his head a little. “Not now.”

“No, not now…” Trent nodded a little, “But if there ever comes a day… I’ll be there. And no one else will know.”

Those grey-ish eyes found his again, and some almost invisible movement let him know that Metal would take him up on the offer, if he ever needed to.

“Alright, good.” Trent nodded. “Should we go see if there’s any coffee left on this base?”

He saw Metal squeeze his fists until his knuckles turned white, then the man nodded a little.

“Coffee sounds good.” He voice was still shaky.

Trent nodded and put on some clothes, then waited as Metal did the same.

123123123

As strong coffee tried to soothe his soul, the memories from later that evening resurfaced in his mind.

From after his sister had returned.

She had walked into his room. They had talked for hours. She had taken a look at his shoulder. They had agreed that he would ‘fall off his bike’ on the way to school the next morning. He’d wear a sleeveless shirt under his sweater. Hopefully no one would see all of the other bruises.

The next month or so, the teacher’s had worn their pity faces again.

“Hey… Bro…” he swallowed hard and looked back up at his teammate, “Thanks.”

The left side of Trent’s lips jumped upward in a lightning fast half-smile before his face went back to its tired expression, “No problem.”


	2. Memory loss

He woke up from the hand cupping his chin. Eyes he knew he should recognize was scanning him.

Trent wasn’t really sure what had happened. He wasn’t even sure where he was.

Nothing hurt too much. His head felt odd though. He was pretty sure he didn’t have a concussion, he was about willing to bet that he’d been drugged.

“Hey T. How are you feeling?” he couldn’t place the man in front of him, but he knew he liked him, “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head a little. “Don’t think so…”

“Good. Great.” The man grinned, then tilted his head, “You good? You look a little… Confused?”

Trent nodded a little, he gelt his cheeks redden. “Who? Who are you?”

The man in front of him chuckled a bit, “It’s me, Full Metal. I’m your teammate. Relax, Sonny found some drug they probably used on you, explains why your head probably feels funny and why you don’t remember.”

“Sonny?”

“Yeah, he’s another one of your teammates.” The kind grey-ish eyes smiled back at him, “You think you can walk out of here? Jason, our team leader, called in exfil when we found you.”

Trent nodded a little, and grabbed the hand Full Metal offered him.

As soon as he was semi-vertical, he knew that he had been mistaken. And the only reason he didn’t faceplant was the two strong hands catching him.

“Think you might need some assistance there buddy…” his rescuer chuckled and guided Trent’s left arm over his own shoulders.

Trent also felt the man’s right hand grab a hold of his belt.

“This way…” the familiar voice cued. Trent focused on putting one foot in front of the other.


	3. I've only led you astray, like, twice. That's not even that bad!

“So, ready?” Metal grinned.

“No.” Trent sighed and glared towards his buddy, “I’m not doing it… It’s a bad idea.”

“Come on… It’ll be fun.” Metal flashed a wicked grin.

“No… It’ll be dangerous.”

“Come on…” Metal winked, “Have I ever led you astray?”

“Yes.” Trent nodded, “You have.”

“Okay, okay… But,” Metal nodded a little, “I’ve only led you astray, like, twice. That’s not even that bad.”

Trent sighed, and glared at his buddy, “Oh, you’d have to multiply that with a lot.”

“Nah…” Metal shook his head, “Come on… We’ll have a lot of fun.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Come on now, you know you want to…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, well... What can I say?  
> I was lazy with this one...
> 
> Promise the next one is a bit longer...


	4. Worst fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BRINGING THE ANGST

_Seeing his best friend collapse in the starlit street a little before he heard the report of a rifle was the scariest he’d ever experienced. Without thinking, he sprinted towards Metal’s prone body, grabbed a hold of a strap on Metal’s gear and dragged him behind the nearest wall. Only after he was behind the semi-safety of the wall, he realized how dangerous that little sprint could’ve been._

_He had noticed a second report of a rifle, and was glad to find that he hadn’t been hit himself._

_There were pained whimpers below him, but it was like the injured man’s strength was fading fast._

_He looked over his friend, he couldn’t see any blood, but he smelt it. He tore his gloves off and let his hands glide over every inch of his body, checking for sticky, slick, wetness or a concerning dimple or crater._

_Head. No unexplainable wetness. A small sheen of sweat, as to be expected in the heat._

_Neck. Just sweat. His fingers found Metal’s pulse, but he didn’t like how faint it felt under his fingertips._

_He dried his hands on his own thighs._

_Shoulders, arms. Dry fabric._

_The acrid smell of blood was sickening. He gagged silently._

_Metal had fallen silent._

_He undid his best friend’s vest. He’d been fooled by a dry vest before. And he didn’t want to make the same mistake in the dark. His hands started checking up by Metal’s collarbones._

_Down his chest. High abdomen, lower abdomen, back up his sides. Nothing. Just sweaty, but not as wet as if his fingers had stumbled upon an open wound._

_Hips, pelvic area. Nothing._

_Left thing. Next to nothing. A bit more damp near the knee than he expected. He dried his hands on his own pants and searched on._

_Left leg. Nothing. Damn it._

_Right thigh. Fuck._

_He pressed his knee against it as his bloodied fingers struggled to get a tourniquet out from its holder._

_He wasn’t sure whether he had heard a pained moan, or if he had just imagined it. He hoped he actually had heard it._

_“Keep breathing buddy… Keep breathing…” he whispered, “You’re gonna be alright.”_

_He had no count of how many times he had lied like that before. He doubted Metal would make it. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was still breathing, or if his heart kept beating._

_He gagged again at the strong smell of blood. He was pretty sure the fact that it was Metal’s blood made it worse. The smell of blood was always upsetting, but he couldn’t remember the last time he actually gagged from it. His connection to Metal had to be the factor which caused it._

_He dried his hands again and checked the pulse at Metal’s neck again. Nothing. A small voice in the back of his mind asked ‘Did his heart stop, or is his blood pressure low. Systolic under 60, LOW…’_

_Nothing._

_Nothing._

_Still nothing._

_He stopped feeling for it, and placed his hands over Metal’s sternum, and started compressing. The cracks of Metal’s ribs under his hands were painful but necessary. ‘If you haven’t cracked a few ribs, you haven’t done it right.’ The words from some long forgotten mentor echoed through the back of his mind._

_He didn’t care to stop and give inhalations, he expected Metal had enough oxygen left in his blood for a while longer. What he needed was circulation._

_Besides, more and more instructors recommended hands only CPR. At least if you had seen the person collapse, kids, people you found and drowning victims being a little different._

_“Come on. Come on. Come on.” Trent messed as he kept the pace._

_“COME ON FOR FUCK’s SAKE!”_

123123123

“Trent, wake up!” a stern voice ordered.

He was suddenly aware of the weight bearing down on his elbows, and the lower leg across his hips.

“Trent, you were having a nightmare…” The voice changed, it still belonged to the same person, but now it was a gentle voice above him, “Bro, I tried to wake you up for like ten minutes…”

He blinked a little more, the room got clearer. The voice fell into place, and as soon Trent was able to focus his eyes in the dim light, his eyes watered and he started sobbing.

“Ssshhh…” The man above him removed his leg from his hips, and sat down on the edge of the bed. At the same time he removed his weight from Trent’s elbows, but kept his hands lingering, “Whatever it was, it’s not here or now. You’re safe.”

The sobbing changed into full-on ugly crying. His face contorted, his chin dimpling, lower lip folded down towards his chin, snot and tears.

“Trent…” The hand over his left elbow traveled up his arm, shoulder and neck, before the thumb of the same hand attempted wiping away tears. “T. Can you tell me what you were dreaming…”

He was unable to do anything but sob.

“Was it something real? Something which has happened?” Metal’s voice was warm and gentle, not that anyone else would have believed it, “Or was it just a bad dream? No attachment to reality?”

The sobs racked through his body.

The other hand left his right elbow and slipped under his torso, urging him to sit up. He did.

Both of Metal’s arms wrapped around him, when he finally was seated. “You’re okay, Trent. You’re okay.”

He wrapped his arms around Metal as well, squeezing as hard as he could.

“Hey now… I’d like to be able to breathe still…” there was a trace of laughter in Metal’s gentle and warm voice.

Trent trembled, wet, painful hiccups of sobs.

“Hey… Shhh…” Metal’s hand started traveling up and down his back, “I was just joking… Can you tell me what your nightmare was about?”

“Worst.” Trent could feel himself trembling, “Worst nightmare. Ever.”

“Okay…” Metal nodded against his cheek, “Details?”

“You died.”

Trent felt Metal stiffen next to him, before Metal tightened his arms around him. “You can relax. I’m okay as well…”

Trent nodded carefully.

“Did anyone else…?”

“No…” Trent’s voice was trembling, “You. Just you.”

“Well, then everyone’s alright then…” Metal whispered, one of his hands had started rubbing circles against Trent’s back once again.

“I… I believed the nightmare.” Trent buried his face against the nape of Metal’s neck, “I was… It scared me.”

“I understand…” Metal nodded, “But it was just a dream, a nightmare. Nothing real about it.”

Trent nodded a little, tears still rolling from his eyes.

“Hey, let’s do something to get your mind off of this…” Metal’s left hand found Trent’s hair and stroked through it, “We could go on a coffee hunt. Or stargaze for a while.”

“Coffee…” Trent sniffed, “I don’t want you to be out in the open…”

“Because of the dream?”

Trent nodded.

“Okay, then we go search for coffee quickly, and we return here to drink it.” Metal offered, “Does that sound okay?”

Trent nodded against Metal’s face.


	5. It's things like these that keep me up at night.

Being sidelined wasn’t his forte. It almost annoyed him that it was nothing more than a simple break of his right fibula. He wasn’t even in enough pain for it to seem reasonable for him to relax.

Knowing his team was out there without him sucked.

Worst of all was how he had injured himself.

He hadn’t gotten injured on the job. No. That would’ve been okay enough. He wouldn’t have liked it even then, but he would have been more okay with it.

What was not okay in any way, shape or form, was to see a familiar town on the news channel. It sure wasn’t local, but he instantly recognized it as the town next to the base his team was at.

His heartrate picked up. Skyrocketed actually.

He wanted to make a few calls, but he was pretty sure the team and everyone connected to them would be best off with no distractions. But he needed to know they were okay.

He glanced towards his phone laying on the table. No. He wouldn’t use it. No.

He glanced back at the television.

He saw bodies being carried out with sheets hiding the person on the stretcher. His body pretty much ached with the urge to reach out for his phone in order to make a few calls.

He was almost about to reach for it when his phone rang. He snagged it with the speed of lightning. “YEAH, HELLO? You’ve reached Full Metal!”

There was a cough at the other side of the line, “Guess you saw the news, huh?”

“Yeah.” Metal nodded, “How are you guys? Anyone of you hurt? -Or worse?”

“Hey, one question at the time, alright?” Trent coughed again, cussing under his breath, “We’re okay. A couple of us got some scrapes and nicks. None of ours are worse.”

“You’re coughing…”

“Inhaled some smoke.” Trent admitted, “They’re keeping me under observation.

Metal nodded to himself, “Thanks for calling, by the way…”

“Yeah, I thought that was the least I could do…” Trent tsked, “It’s things like these that keeps me up at night, especially when I’m sidelined.”

Metal smiled, but winced in sympathy as Trent coughed once more.

“Besides, I know you…” Trent let go of a cautious chuckle, “You would have waited calling until it all of the ‘dust’ had settled. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after that… And you wouldn’t have been-“

Trent was cut off by a violent coughing fit.

“I guess they’re keeping you under observation for a reason…”

“Eeeh… Yeah…” Trent agreed again, “Anyway, you wouldn’t have been able to relax at all, not before you knew.”

Metal nodded, “Yeah, you know me well. Thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it…” He could hear Trent smiling, “You’d probably do something similar if the roles were reversed.

“I hope I would.”

“Nah, you would.” Trent replied, “As sure as you had the opportunity.”

Trent coughed again, just a few coughs this time.

“So, how’s the leg?”

“More of an annoyance than painful.” Metal admitted.

“So, did you learn anything?” He could hear the smirk in Trent's voice. 

“Don’t show off to my nephew?” Metal chuckled, “And, I don’t have the skills I once had on skateboards.”

Trent chuckled, then coughed for almost a minute.

“Hey, maybe you should… Relax?” Metal shrugged a little, “Sounds like talking fucks you up…”

“Yeah… Kinda does. Laughing does for sure…” Trent groaned.

“Once again, thanks for calling.” Metal grinned, “And take care.”

“Will do.” Trent replied, “You too…”

“Yeah, I will.”

“-And no more skating…”

“Yeah, I won’t. I promise.”

“Good.”

“Yeah…”

“See you in a couple of months…”

“Yeah, gonna be good to have you guys back home.”

They didn’t really say good bye, they just hung up.


	6. In my defense, he was already dead when I got here.

He was jokingly known for being the guy you go to if you had a body to get rid of. And that was on him, he’d made sketchy comments ever since he managed to become a SEAL. Right now he regretted all of that, a little bit at least.

The guy hadn’t been gone for long. He was still warm.

-And they kinda needed him alive.

“Havoc, this is Alpha-1.” He sighed, “I found our target. There’s only one problem.”

“Are you able to secure him or do you need backup?”

“Securing him won’t be a problem.” Metal frowned, “I’m gonna need help getting him out of here. Someone got to him before we did.”

123123123

“Wait, he’s dead?”

“Yup.” Metal nodded as Jason entered the room, “In my defense, he was already dead when I got here…”

Jason frowned a little, so did Trent who entered the room right after him.

“You sure about that?” Jason joked, tilting his head as he took a closer look at the dead target.

“Yeah.” Metal frowned, “Can we please just, search the building for stuff which might hold the information we need, and transfer this guy?”

Trent smirked a little, “Next time when they say we need the target alive…”

“-He was already dead when I got here.” Metal scowled over at him, “And I can’t exactly make him un-dead, right?”

Jason chuckled, “No… No, don’t try that. I’ve seen that movie.”

“Yeah, and Sonny would crawl out of his own skin if he ever heard that.”

“Heard what?” Sonny asked from another room.

“Nothing!” Jason called back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Of course no one believes him...


	7. Are you always this prone to bad luck and violence? If so, that's kind of sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this behemoth is 5969 words long...  
> *sigh*
> 
> -Hope you enjoy it.

For once, they weren’t on a mission. For once they were guaranteed three weeks without a deployment or spin up. For once, they had decided to go camping together.

For once, they could walk in a relaxed pace and chat as much as they wanted. For once they didn’t have to carry weapons. For once they didn’t have to worry about having weapons pointed towards them.

They had all traveled out to Yosemite in California. First they had scaled the Half Dome, then they prepared to hike for a couple of days through the less visited parts of the park.

123123123

He had to admit, it was kinda fun listening to Sonny sing as they trekked up the first hill from where they had parked deeper into the park. It was an old country tune, Haggard if he was correct. ‘Mama tried’. He started humming along, then Trent did, then Clay and then the rest as well.

Metal studied the surrounding forest as they walked. He saw a bird having a snack on a branch. He saw a snake slithering away from the trail, a little in front of where Sonny was. He contemplated mentioning it in order to see the Texan jump a little. He knew the man hated snakes. But, he figured it was best to keep quiet. The snake wasn’t close enough to cause harm and he didn’t think it was a venomous one either. No need to scare his buddy. Even though it might have been fun.

He twisted around and flashed a smile to Trent, before he turned back around and kept walking.

He took a deep breath of the clean air around them. Savored it. How could one man be so lucky? His best mates around him, no mission to finish, no immediate danger. Just, bliss.

He loved being in the middle of all the action, but he also loved to relax and do stuff which made good memories, without the potential of being shot at. He knew his friends probably thought otherwise of him. He had been playing up the action loving side of him for years, and he knew his reputation preceded him.

That being said, he knew some of his new teammates well already. He’d entered at the same time as them, and had been in the same team as them when he was younger. One of them he knew extremely well, but that was a long held secret.

This trip was a good excuse to get to know the younger teammates better. The only thing missing was Brock’s dog. Too bad, he really liked that furry sailor.

123123123

Trent felt his heart warm up five degrees at the quick smile Full Metal tossed his way. Full Metal knew how much the small stuff like that meant to him, and that was probably one of the reasons they had managed to stay a couple for as long as they had, even though the others didn’t know about it. Well, most of the others, Jase knew. Jase was the exception.

They had planned on sleeping arrangements before they headed out. They had a few two and three person tents. Jason, Sonny and Ray would share one. Clay and Brock would share another. Which meant Trent and Full Metal ended up in the last one.

Trent wasn’t about to complain about that.

He knew they wouldn’t have the opportunity to act as a couple, or do most of the things a couple might do on a camping trip. But, in the dark of the night, they would be able to have an arm wrapped around the other one or lay pressed against each other. He looked forward to six nights of that.

123123123

They walked until they calculated they figured it was time to get ready for the night. Then Jason suggested they’d set up camp while the sun was still up.

Metal held his arm outstretched in front of him, his fingers stacked over the line of the horizon. If he held all four fingers parallel to the ground, the sun disappeared behind his index finger, if he bent it, he could see the sun over his middle finger. “Looks like we’ve got a bit more than 45 minutes before sun-down.”

The rest of the guys agreed. And soon enough the three tents were pitched, and the guys had a campfire going and coffee brewing.

Metal had been correct, about 50 minutes after they stopped, the sun dipped below the horizon.

Trent sat down on an old log once they were done fixing the camp. Jason folded out a camping chair a couple yards away. Brock rolled out a sleeping mat and used a leaning tree as backrest.

Ray chose to roll out his sleeping mat as well, but he laid down next to Jason’s chair, facing towards the fire.

Sonny unfolded a stool, placing it against a tree in order to have something to lean against as well.

Clay rolled out his mat, and used his backpack as a backrest.

Metal looked at the spot next to Trent on the log, contemplating whether he should sit down or not.

“Sit down…” Trent smirked, “I don’t bite.”

If anyone had focused on Metal’s face, they might have caught a micro expression which told an entirely different story.

“You sure?”

“That you can sit down? Or that I won’t bite?”

Jason chuckled, and shot in, “Both.”

“Alright, I might not be above biting in self defense…” Trent shrugged, “-And maybe a few other situations as well. But I think he’ll be safe for tonight.”

Metal chuckled and sat down, “Just so you know, if you bite… I’ll bite back.”

Trent chuckled in return and took a sip of coffee in order to hide his smile.

They sat around the campfire like that for hours. Telling storied and tall tales about previous hikes and of course missions. Sonny was in charge of most of the tall tales, and Clay helped.

123123123

Trent yawned and stretched, “You know what? I have to turn in now…”

“Aw, come on Trent…” Brock teased, “you’re usually not one to turn in early.”

“Well, this is meant to be a vacation…” Trent shrugged, “Not that Bravo-3, -6 or you got that memo by the pace you kept.”

“You want us to keep a slower pace tomorrow?” Sonny shrugged.

“Nah…” Trent shook his head, “I just need my beauty sleep…”

“Hey, sorry to tell you…” Brock frowned, “But there’s not enough time in the world for you to get the beauty sleep you really need.”

“Well, at least I don’t look like you…” Trent shot back, causing Brock to gape and the rest of the team to laugh. “Anyway… Good night.”

“Good night.” They all said in return.

123123123

Trent had almost fallen asleep when the zipper at the door of the tent slid up and Metal crawled in.

“The others turned in thirty minutes ago…” Metal whispered as he zipped the door behind him.

“Oh?” Trent yawned.

“Yeah.”

“They asleep?”

“No idea…” Metal shrugged as he laid down next to Trent.

Trent flashed a tired smile before he rolled to his side in order to place a quick kiss on Metal’s lips. Metal willingly answered it.

“Was a nice hike earlier today?”

Metal nodded, “Yeah, but six to eight hours of laying flat will suit me just fine right about now.”

Trent nodded and slipped an arm over Metal’s torso.

Metal smiled mostly to himself before he leaned over and pressed a kiss to whatever part of Trent’s face was closest, landing on a spot right under his left eye.

“Swing and a miss…” Trent whispered.

Metal chuckled soundlessly, then whispered back, “Want me to try again?”

“If you don’t, I will.” Trent dared.

Metal pushed up on his elbow and found Trent’s chin with his free hand, and found his lips without any problems.

Trent smiled against his lips.

Metal then placed his index finger against Trent’s chest, then he drew the shape of a heart against his skin.

Trent leaned in closer, so close he could whisper low enough so that he was sure no one else in the entire world would hear him, “I love you too…”

Metal pressed another kiss against Trent’s lips, then he yawned, “About that beauty sleep…”

“You don’t really need it…” Trent whispered next to Metal’s ear once again, “You’re already beautiful.”

“Figure I might try to maintain that…” Metal shrugged, “But, yeah… Tired.”

Trent nodded and rested his face against his partner’s shoulder, less than a minute later he was snoring softly.

123123123

The next day they hiked for hours, until they got to a lake where they decided to fish for a while, and then cook up some dinner. After they called themselves done with all of that, they walked for another couple of hours before settling in for the night again.

The day had been mostly uneventful, except for grand views around every corner. Small creeks framed by wildflowers, trees which seemed to stretch into the sky and then a bit further. All sorts of animals, from squirrels running up and down trees, to a fox and to multiple deer.

Jason had managed to get a small blister from a cooking accident. Trent had offered him a burn gel packet and something to wrap around it so it wouldn’t puncture against the first pointy thing he found. And Metal had managed to slice up his thumb while slaying fish, Trent had given him four stitches to close it and covered it with an adhesive bandage.

The evening and night being about the same as the day before. Metal and Trent turned in at different times, but the first one tried to stay awake for the second one.

123123123

On the morning of the third day, Trent was the first one outside of the tents.

In the far distance he saw a black bear grazing quietly. He was torn between waking the others so they could see it as well, and just standing there in awe.

He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to get a nature experience like this. Most people could only wish for this.

He snuck back to the tent he shared with Metal and pulled out a camera with a lens suited for long distances.

“Why are you up already…” Metal grouched in a whisper.

“-There’s a bear about 150, 200 yards from our camp…” Trent grinned back, “I just want to capture a picture or two of it…”

Metal yawned and pushed up on his hands and knees in order to crawl out in his boxer briefs to take a look at the bear himself.

“Whoa… That’s awesome…” He grinned as he watched the bear as Trent took pictures of it.

Trent put down his camera and nodded, “We are some lucky guys…”

Metal nodded, “It’s… It’s grazing…”

“It is.” Trent whispered back, “Like it doesn’t have a care in the world.”

“Except for stocking up for next winter…” Metal shrugged.

“Kinda like you every time you come back from a spin up…”

“Hey…” Metal smirked, “You’re one to talk.”

“Nice boxers there, Full Metal…”

Metal smirked, “Didn’t really have time to put on clothes, did I?”

“Well, you’re certainly not shy about it either…” Trent smirked back.

“Would’ve thought you’d still be more interested in the bear than my… Boxers…” Metal whispered back.

Trent winked again, not daring to voice his answer, even in a whisper.

Metal focused back on the bear in the distance.

123123123

Clay chuckled when the first thing he saw as he crawled out of the tent that morning, was Full Metal in a pair of near neon green boxer briefs, and nothing else.

He quickly got shushed down though, and shown the bear.

“That’s amazing…” he whispered as he crawled out in only one more item of clothing than Metal was wearing.

Trent nodded and brought his camera back up.

The grazing bear lifted its head and looked towards them, kept chewing on the grass for a little while, before burying its muzzle in the grass once more.

“It knows we’re here…” Clay tilted his head in awe.

“Well, duh…” Metal almost chuckled, “It’s downwind from us. It knew we were here even before Trent saw it…”

They watched a few more minutes before the bear started walking away from the clearing it had been grazing at.

“I think that was the best nature moment I’ll ever experience…” Clay almost whispered, even though the bear was gone.

“Definitely top ten…” Metal agreed.

They then decided to wait with breakfast until they had made a good bit of distance to where they had seen the bear, if only to be on the safe side. Nobody wanted Ursus Americanus to join them for breakfast.

123123123

They had recently finished breakfast when things went from nice to awful for one of them. One second he was walking behind Sonny along an animal track parallel to a scree leading down to a gulley.

Then out of seemingly nowhere he heard a roar, trampling sounds, one of his teammates yelling.

Next it seemed like the force of nature itself slammed into him from his left.

He landed four times in the scree, before he landed in the gulley. The second time he had impacted with the ground, he heard a sharp sound, and he hoped it was a twig he had heard snapping, but he knew better.

The landing in the bottom of the gulley knocked the air completely out of him. Beside him a black tail deer struggled to its feet before it fled away.

Not long after he had his bearings, he saw Trent making his way down the scree to check on him. He would have waved, or signal that he was relatively okay in some other way, if it hadn’t been for the chilling rattling he couldn’t entirely pinpoint. It sounded like it came from his right, but also his left. Or maybe above his head? It definitely had a surround-effect.

“You okay?”

He didn’t even dare speak, not before the nope rope chilled down.

“Metal?” Trent asked as he came to the bottom of the scree.

“Don’t come any closer.” He replied, trying to keep his lips as still as possible.

“What?”

“Rattles.” He answered, trying to be a ventriloquist.

“Rattles?” Trent frowned, and paused to listen, “Oh fuck. Rattlesnakes.”

Metal fought the urge to swallow. It certainly would’ve been bad news if a rattlesnake decided his Adam’s apple was enough of a threat to strike at.

“How is he down there?” Sonny asked as he leaned over the edge.

“He’s found some rattling friends.”

“WHAT?”

“Rattlesnake.” Trent called back.

There was no way of misreading what Sonny thought about rattlers. Not by the way he vocalized his disgust, or for anyone lucky enough to see his expression.

And that was about the exact moment his leg decided to leave the shocked and numb state it had been in up until then, and started hurting, and yeah, his ankle had to be broken. No freaking doubt about it.

The rattling subsided, and he dared a small sigh of relief. “T… My ankle’s broken…”

“What?”

“Right ankle.” Metal fell silent again as the rattling started up again to his left.

“Broke your right ankle?” Trent frowned, “And the rattling started up again. Great.”

Metal stayed quiet until the rattler which was definitely to his left stopped rattling. “Help?”

Trent stepped carefully towards Metal’s feet, hoping he’d be able to see the snake from that position. And he did. Four of them. “How are you still alive with the kind of bad luck you’ve got?”

“No joking.” Metal swallowed carefully, “Just get me up and outta here.”

123123123

Trent studied the scene for a minute, “Can you raise your right hand?”

“Think there’s a rattler there too.”

“It’s furthest away.” Trent promised, “About six feet from you. Left one is about four. You’ve got another one a little further to your left, and one more above you, about five feet.”

His heart was beating in his throat as he watched his secret partner raise his right hand. But none of the snakes cared too much about it.

He watched carefully as he stepped close enough to grab a hold of the hand Metal held up, “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“No.”

“Okay, carefully…” Trent prompted as he started pulling on Metal’s arm.

The rattling started up again as soon as Metal’s head left the ground. Trent saw the rattler to Metal’s left coil up even tighter, “Okay, QUICKLY!”

123123123

His body protested as Trent yanked him forward, and up on one foot. He hadn’t expected to get that that far up, he had expected to still be seated when Trent had pulled him up.

He cussed and groaned, gritted his teeth.

“Did it bite you?”

“What?” he squeezed out, “No…”

“Are you sure?” Trent’s hands had started traveling around his face and head to check for swellings or bleeds, “It tried to…”

“No… I don’t think it bit me…” Metal frowned and pushed his partner’s hands away, “I winced because I’m generally bruised and battered. And because my ankle hurts a lot.”

“Let me check you over, alright?”

“Can I either sit down or get some support before you do that?”

“Just let me…” Trent stalled as he twisted Metal’s head to the right, taking a better look at the left side of his head. Which unfortunately was enough to cause Metal to lose his balance for a short second.

“Fuck-OW!” Metal hopped on his left leg, pulling his right well off the ground. His hands gripping a hold of Trent to stay upright.

“Broken ankle… Right.”

“Hey, do you need help down there?” Clay called down.

“Yeah. Ankle’s bust!” Metal called back, not waiting for Trent to answer. His voice revealed that he was in a lot of pain.

123123123

They made it to the top of the scree and found a large rock Metal could sit on while Trent checked on him.

“Okay, your head’s clear…” Trent breathed a sigh of relief, “No fang marks.”

“Told you.” Metal grimaced as he leaned against Jason’s legs which acted like a backrest for him, “My ankle’s the real problem.”

“Are you always this prone to bad luck and violence? If so, that’s kind of sad.” Sonny tilted his head and studied his older teammate.

“What?”

“You got slammed by a deer, in the middle of the forest. Flew off a cliff, down a ravine. Landed in rattlesnake hills and messed up your leg.” Sonny frowned, “Not to mention that you cut yourself yesterday while we were fishing. You must have a bottomless amount of bad luck. And I’d like to say that getting run down by a deer counts for violence.”

Metal chuckled a little in spite of the situation. 

Trent nodded and hunched down beside Metal’s ankle. “Gonna undo your boot now…”

Metal nodded a little, “What actually happened?”

“Did you hit your head?”

“No, I just didn’t catch what was happening. Too busy with my first flying lesson of the day…”

“Okay, you’re not gonna believe this…” Sonny shrugged, “But Bambi came charging out of that thick brush over there with Yogi right behind him. Bambi was too busy to check where he was running. Ran straight into ya…”

“Yeah, and Yogi heard Sonny scream for his life, got scared and ran off in another direction…” Brock filled in, earning himself a lethal glare from Sonny.

“Yeah, caught that part.” Metal nodded and watched as Trent gently rested his injured foot against his thigh. His partner gently undid his laces and widened it as much as possible, then he frowned. “What is it?”

Trent didn’t want to pull the boot off without knowing exactly what the bumpy situation under Metal’s sock was. He bared his teeth a little and pulled out a multitool from his belt. “Gonna have to undo your sock, you probably don’t want me to try to roll it off.”

“No. Don’t do that…” Metal swallowed.

Trent found the small shears on the tool, and started snipping away at the sock. He grimaced as he bared the area.

“How does it look?” Jason asked.

“Metal’s right.” Trent frowned, “This is broken.”

“Not open, I hope…” Metal winced.

Trent frowned. It wasn’t open, but the skin stretched white over where the broken bone pressed against it. “No, but it’s pressing against the skin…”

He tried widening the boot a bit more, before he slipped the boot off as gently as he could, eliciting a growl from Metal. “Anyone’s got a sat phone?”

The silence answered him.

“Okay, great…” Trent frowned, his hands still checking on his partner’s leg and foot, “Anyone’s got any bars on their cellphones?”

The guys who weren’t preoccupied took their phones out and checked.

“Nope.”

“Nada.”

“No… Sorry.”

“Okay…” Trent nodded to himself, “Metal… You can’t put weight on this.”

“Figured that much.” He frowned in return.

“No, no…” Trent shook his head, “What I mean is… You should be airlifted out of here… But we’ll have to put you on a stretcher until we can get through with a call.”

“That’s not necessary.” Metal shook his head, “Just fix me a pair of makeshift crutches and I’ll get out of here the same way I walked in.”

“That’s almost a three day hike.” Trent scowled up at him, “I do not allow it.”

Metal scoffed, but yelped when Trent eased just the slightest bit of pressure under his foot.

“See, you’re not up for it.” Trent sighed, “You’ve got a strong pulse below the injury, but… Up to five days like this, that’s not going to happen… I think I should set your leg.”

“Yeah, doesn’t take much to make that one an open fracture…” Sonny shot in from the side.

“Exactly.” Trent nodded, “Ray, Brock, Clay, Sonny… Can you try to find anything I can use as a splint? I’ve got bandages and that stuff in my backpack, but I didn’t bring splints.”

The four guys nodded and went scavenging.

“You ready buddy?” Trent asked and placed a warm hand against Metal’s knee.

“You’re about to set my ankle… No, not ready.” Metal took a deep breath, “But do it anyway…”

“Gonna be okay buddy…” Jason said reassuringly as he patted Metal’s shoulder. 

“-Maybe it would be easier if we placed you on the ground again? Easier for me to get the traction I need.”

Metal nodded a little, “Help me down and we’ll get this settled. Probably best to just get it over with…”

Trent nodded a bit, “One of us on each side to help you down?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Metal nodded and braced himself as Jason and Trent placed themselves on either side of him. He was able to stay quiet as they helped him sit down on the ground instead, but the grimaces he made spoke volumes.

123123123

If it was one thing he’d never get used to, it would be feeling someone else’s dislocated joint slipping back in place under his hands, or their fractured bones sliding into a more stabile or better position.

He always hated it, And the fact that it was Metal’s bones which slid back in a more normal looking position made it even worse.

As soon as he was confident about the way Metal’s leg was set, he rested Metal’s leg on top of Metal’s backpack, elevating the injury. Then he crawled up towards his torso and head, cupping his chin with his left hand.

“There…” he attempted a smile, “Done with the sucky part.”

The ragged sigh hurt to listen to. He knew Metal tried his best to reassure him he was alright, that it didn’t hurt that bad.

His right hand found Metal’s left one, his hand squeezing Metal’s. Metal returned the squeeze.

“How does it feel?” he asked after a few minutes.

“Better, kinda.” Metal shrugged a little, “When I lay completely still.”

123123123

Jason watched as Trent’s thumb traveled across Metal’s knuckles repeatedly. He saw how bad Metal fought to keep his expression as close to neutral as he could, and how worried Trent was.

He had known both men for years, and had known their secret for just a short time less.

A grimace flashed across Metal’s features and he let out a small groan.

“I think Trent was right when claiming that you shouldn’t try to hobble out of here on improvised crutches.”

“I can make it…” a cocky smile briefly took place on Metal’s face as he glanced towards Trent, before he bared his teeth in a grimace, “I swear…”

Trent chuckled a little, “You stubborn dork.”

Jason smiled a little as he saw the soft smile the insult caused on Metal’s lips. Love languages were a funny thing. He knew the one he had with Alana, but that didn’t mean he knew everyone else’s. He was pretty sure he had detected a few of Trent and Metal’s usual things though.

123123123

“So, how are we gonna do this?” Sonny asked a little after the four others had returned with something which would work as a splint, “Getting him outta here.”

“Well, we don’t have reception or a sat phone.” Trent shrugged, “I can only see two options.”

“And those are?”

“Either we build a stretcher to carry him out on, or we send a couple of you away to find reception in order to call in our location and request help to get him out.”

“Are we sure I can’t just get some branch crutches?”

“I’ll press my hand against the underside of your foot again…” Trent threatened, “I mean it.”

“Okay, no…” Metal shook his head a little, “You win, that’s not an option.”

Trent nodded. 

“I think it’s best if we send a few of us away.” Clay shrugged, “It’ll be quicker, less risk of more injury.”

“I’m with Clay on this one.” Jason nodded, “We could have made a stretcher as well, but that would be a heavy stretcher based on the materials available. And resting here will no doubt be the more comfortable option for Metal.”

“It’s the best option.” Trent nodded, then flashed a smirk towards Metal, “Not because I don’t want to carry you or anything.”

Metal smirked, nodding a bit, “Okay, yeah… Probably best.”

“Who wants to go? Who wants to stay?” Jason shrugged.

“Think I’ll have to stay…” Trent looked up as he started picking out the right things he needed to splint Metal’s ankle.

“Of course…” Jason nodded and looked at his injured teammate, “I’ll stay as well, we’re similar height, that’s practical if we have to help you move around.”

Metal nodded a little, “Yeah.”

“I can go.” Brock offered.

“I can too.” Clay nodded, “In case anything happens.”

“Well, in case anything happens, we should be three.” Sonny shrugged, “I don’t mind hiking as well, in this terrain, I might even call it getting my cardio in for the day.”

“Good thinking.” Jason nodded, “Ray? What do you want to do?”

“Well, hiking team’s got Sonny…” Ray shrugged, “I can’t let the three of you starve as you stay here, can I? You certainly proved you’re not the man for that job yesterday and I guess Trent will be busy most of the time.”

Jason chuckled, “Super.”

123123123

A little while after Brock, Clay and Sonny left in hopes of finding reception fairly soon, Trent stepped over to his backpack and pulled out his sleeping mat. “No need for you to lay directly on the ground while we’re waiting. Might take a long time.”

“Yeah…” Metal sighed, “It’s kinda damp and cold.”

“How about we move over to that spot where the sun breaks through the canopy?” Ray suggested, “If you think you’re up for it, of course…”

“Yeah, just need a couple shoulders to lean on…” Metal chanced a deep breath before glancing at Trent and Jason, “Gonna need some help up as well.”

“You’ve got it…” Trent nodded and knelt down on one side of his partner, “You need one on each side to get up, or?”

“If you step over on the other side, you’ll be enough.” Metal shrugged.

“And here I thought I always was enough…” Trent chuckled.

“Shut up…” Metal rolled his eyes, “You know what I meant.”

“Yeah, you need more support on your right.” Trent smirked as Jason knelt down on Metal’s right side, “You ready?”

Metal nodded.

123123123

He tried to keep a straight face as they moved towards the place where the sunrays hit the ground, tried to keep from groaning or cussing.

“Hey… Remember to breathe…” Trent whispered, “Don’t hold your breath.”

He inhaled sharply.

“Do you need us to move slower?” Jason asked.

They stopped a little, even before Metal had time enough to answer.

“Nah, I don’t need to…”

“Well, I need you to take a couple of good breaths, before you pass out because you deprive your brain of oxygen.”

“I hate it when you…” Metal grimaced in spite of himself, “Hate it when you make sense.”

“No, you don’t…” Trent smirked back.

A few seconds later, they started moving again. A little slower this time.

Then Ray folded out the sleeping mat and Trent and Jason were able to help Metal sit down on the mat.

123123123

“I’ll go get the backpacks and gear…” Jason shrugged, “Trent, you probably want to take a second look at Metal’s leg, right?”

Trent knew what it was. It was an offer, masked as a suggestion, which in turn would prompt Ray to help him move the gear. He then cast a glance over at Metal who was leaned forward and had a hand rested a few inches below his knee, probably as close to the injury as he dared touch.

“Yeah. Probably.”

“I’ll help you get the rest of the gear…” Ray shrugged and started walking towards where their backpacks still laid.

123123123

“How are you holding up?” Trent asked, placing a hand on Metal’s thigh.

“Been better.” Metal shrugged and placed a hand on top of Trent’s, “Glad you’re here though…”

“Hey, someone’s gotta look after you and make sure you don’t injure yourself more…” Trent let his eyebrows jump a little in lieu of a smile.

Metal nodded, “That’ll probably hurt for a while, won’t it?”

Trent nodded, “You want to stay at my place for a few weeks? No four flights of stairs, and a larger bathroom…”

“Hey, you don’t have to try to sell it…” Metal smirked, “You know I’d jump at the chance to stay with you… Well, if my leg wasn’t broken, of course…”

Trent smiled a bit, then his smile faltered as he watched his partner grimace.

“What?”

“Nothing…” Metal answered with his eyes squeezed shut, “My ankle is throbbing like crazy.”

“Good thing you don’t have to hobble out of here…” Trent let his hand glide back and forward for a little while, before squeezing Metal’s thigh as a signal that the two others were coming back again. “Love you.”

“Right back…” Metal winked.

Trent flashed a quick smile before his expression turned more serious again, “Maybe elevating that ankle will help a bit with the throbbing…”

“Yeah, hopefully…” Metal nodded as Trent waved Jason over in order to use one of their backpacks to rest Metal’s leg on.

123123123

Day rolled into evening, and the four figured out that they ought to get their two tents ready. They had sent the one made for three people with the three who had gone looking for help.

“Do you want the three of us to squeeze into one tent, so that you have better room and less chance of getting bumped into?” Ray offered.

Metal shook his head, “No…”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, in case I need help getting anywhere, it’s easier to just reach out and tap Trent’s shoulder than trying to call for the three of you in the next tent over…”

Ray nodded a little.

“Besides, Trent sleeps like a log.” He offered up a smirk, “No need of worrying about getting bumped into… It’s not gonna happen.”

“Okay.” Ray nodded, “But if you change your mind, I’m pretty sure the three of us could squeeze into one of the tents, even though it’s designed for two…”

Metal chuckled, “Bro, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

Trent smirked, “I’ll go hang up the food a bit away from our camp… We emptied your backpack of food, right?”

“Yeah, we did that a little after Sonny, Brock and Clay left.” Metal nodded.

“So, you two… Do you want me to hang up yours as well, or do you want to do it yourself?” he looked at Ray and Jason who both shrugged a bit.

Jason was the first to move, he leaned over to his backpack and pulled out a dry sack he kept his food in. Then tossed it to Trent. Ray did the same just after Jason had.

“I’ll be back in a bit then…” Trent nodded and pulled out a rope out of his backpack, “Could you two start with the tents?”

“Sure.” Ray nodded and got to his feet.

123123123

Not too many hours later Trent was trying to fall asleep next to Metal. Tonight it wasn’t as easy as most evenings.

“Hey… Your teeth are clattering…”

“Yeah, it’s freaking cold here.”

“Yeah, it’s colder than the last two nights…” Trent agreed with a yawn, “Probably the elevation…”

“Definitely.” Metal bit out and tried not to shudder, “Hey, think you could… Move in closer?”

“-I don’t want to cause you pain…”

“Well, I’m painfully cold.” Metal grimaced, “And any other day I’d move my legs, maybe rub them against each other in order to get some warmth back in ‘em…”

“Your legs are cold?”

“Entire me is cold.” Metal frowned, “Bet you’re warmer than me.”

“You sure about this?” Trent reached out with one hand, “Might be painful for you.”

“I’d roll over and blanket you myself if I didn’t think it would be more painful than anything else.”

Trent nodded a little and scooted closer, then he opened his sleeping bag, and Metal’s one.

“Wait, I’m gonna have to make a few adjustments.” Trent frowned as he got to his knees and pushed his sleeping mat next to Metal’s so there wasn’t any space between them. Then he laid back down and slipped his feet inside Metal’s sleeping bag. “How’s that?”

“Oh, you’ve got warm feet…” Metal let go of a content sigh.

“Should I slide them down to yours? Or will that hurt?”

“Hell if it hurts.” Metal shrugged as he wrapped an arm around Trent’s shoulder to pull him closer, “My feet are painfully cold.”

Trent slid his feet further towards Metal’s, and pulled himself closer to Metal. Then he draped his own sleeping bag over the both of them.

“Buddy heat, good thinking…” Trent chuckled as he let his hands glide over Metal’s chest in hopes that the friction would provide some warmth.

Metal shivered a little and nodded, then he pressed a kiss against Trent’s forehead, “Thanks, feels better already.”

“Yeah?”

Metal nodded again, “Yeah. It’s helping.”

It didn’t take long before they both fell asleep.

123123123

The next morning Ray had barely managed to complain about how much he had frozen throughout the night, before they heard the familiar sound of chopper blades whooping through the air.

It hovered above them for a little while, and they signaled that they needed help.

The chopper then landed in a clearing a couple hundred yards away from them, a couple with an orange hard plastic stretcher stepped out, looked around and spotted them. Then they walked towards them.

Rescue was there. 


End file.
